Founder of Marine Corps Marathon Dies at 84

James L. Fowler, the founder of the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C., and Arlington, Virginia, died of heart failure on Tuesday at age 84, the Marine Times[4] reports.

A veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the twice-wounded Fowler, who achieved the rank of colonel, envisioned a race that would serve as a Marine Corps recruiting tool and raise money for a charity for injured Marines. The race would also give Marines a chance to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Fowler also understood, “After the Vietnam War, popularity of the military services declined in the eyes of many. At the same time, distance running was gaining considerable positive attention,” he said in the historical account of the MCM[5].

In pitching the idea in 1975 to a key ally, Maj. Gen. Michael Ryan, Fowler noted the marathon’s roots in military history, particularly the legend of Pheidippides' run from Marathon to Athens to carry news of a Greek victory over the Persians.

“I remember somebody asking, ‘Suppose we give this marathon and nobody comes?’” Fowler once told the Washington Post[6]. “It seemed like a natural, but this was the first race I’d ever organized.” The autumn rite that is now referred to as “The People’s Marathon” had 1,175 runners its first edition in 1976. It now routinely has more than 23,000 finishers. James Fowler directed the first two Marine Corps Marathons and ran in the third.

Fowler was in Dartmouth College’s ROTC program before serving in Korea and became a mountaineer, pilot, and a skydiver. He was naturally charismatic and gregarious, recalled his wife, Betsy Fowler. “He was always upbeat," she said. "He always woke up in a good mood."